Love it, or loathe it, Halloween is fast approaching. More and more decorations and costumes are popping up in supermarkets and convenience stores in Chengdu, as China cottons on to another western commercial holiday – but Taobao 淘宝 is still king if you want to take first prize at the costume party.
Physical Stores
Metro, Carrefour, Ito Yokado, Auchan, Walmart and even shop like 7Eleven, Family Mart and Miniso all have accessories and often halloween candy. But if you’re looking for specialist stores, here’s a few:
Shi Er Nan Jie 十二南街
For Costume Hire
Near the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, on Shiernan street there are many costume hire shops with traditional Chinese clothes and lots of sequins. Prices range from 30-300 RMB a day – don’t be afraid to bargain.
Address: 十二南街 (在四川音乐学院的附近）
Shiernan Street, near the Sichuan Conservatory of Music.
Some of the costume hire shops on 十二南街
Houzimen Sport Equipment and Clothing Street
This market is mainly for gym clothes and accessories but other clothing is also available here for the DIY Halloween costume makers, from leggins, tank tops etc.
Address: Middle Renmin Road (Close to the Sheraton Hotel)
人民中路一段
Hehuachi Whole Sale Market
This multi purpose market has a lot of options, from traditional Chinese clothing to more avante-guarde items. Its not a small market, so may require some dedication, but they have many womens, mens and childrens items.
Address: Beizhan East 2nd Rd, Jinniu District 金牛区2环北站西路
Toys R Us
For Kids Costumes
Addresses:
5F, Mix City, No.8 Shuangqing Road, Chenghua District
成华区双庆路8号华润万象城5楼
4F, CapitaMall, No.183 Jiaoda Road, Jinniu District
金牛区交大路183号凯德广场2期4楼
4F, Ufun Mall, No.300, Jiaozi Dadao, Wuhou District
武侯区交子大道300号悠方购物中心4F
Keywords
If you can’t find what you’re looking for in English, here are some Chinese keywords to help narrow down your quest:
服装
fú zhuāng
costume
cos服
cos fú
cosplay item
面具
miàn jù
mask
成人
chéng rén
adult
儿童
ér tóng
child
均码
jūn mǎ
“one size fits most”
定做
dìng zuò
custom-made
Costume Keywords
Got all that? Easy peasy. We’ll come back to those later.
Next, here are some costume idea keywords in orange with actual screenshots copied straight from Taobao herself… we couldn’t make these up if we tried:
Note: we are not endorsing any specific Taobao shop in this list – just use for reference and ALWAYS check the comments and ratings before buying!
Batman
蝙蝠侠
biān fú xiá
Optimus Prime
擎天柱
qíng tiān zhù
Ninja
忍者
rěn zhě
Pumpkin
南瓜
nán guā
Trippy Panda Head
創意熊貓頭套
chuàng yì xióng māo tóu tào
Cavemen
穴居人
xué jū rén
Wonder Woman
神奇女侠
shén qí nǚ xiá
A Donut?
甜甜圈
tián tián quān
Pharaohs
埃及法老
āi jí fǎ lǎo
Your friendly
neighborhood
Waimai Delivery Guy
外卖司机
wài mài sī jī
Minions
小黄人
xiǎo huáng rén
Your Choice of
Harry Potter
House Robe
哈利波特斗篷
hā lì bō tè dòu péng
Creepy Old People
偕老面具
xié lǎo miàn jù
Princesses
公主
gōng zhǔ
Alien Abductee?
充气外星人
chōng qì wài xīng rén
Pizza
披萨
pī sà
Astronaut
宇航员
yǔ háng yuán
Security guard
保安
bǎo ān
This is Sparta!
斯巴达武士
sī bā dá wǔ shì
World Leader Masks
总统面具
zǒng tǒng miàn jù
Winnie the Pooh
小熊维尼
xiǎo xióng wéi ní
Virgin Mary
圣母玛利亚
shèng mǔ mǎ lì yà
Spider-Man
蜘蛛侠
zhī zhū xiá
Nemo
小丑鱼
xiǎo chǒu yú
Thor (and son)
托尔
tuō ěr
Iron Man
钢铁人
gāng tiě rén
Captain America
美国队长
měi guó duì zhǎng
Hulk
绿巨人
lǜ jù rén
Zombies
行尸走肉
háng shī zǒu ròu
Dancing Crayons
蜡笔
là bǐ
Jon Snow
琼恩雪诺
qióng ēn xuě nuò
Daenerys Targaryen
Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals (the Rhoynar) and the First Men, Lady Regnant of the Seven Kingdoms, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Mhysa, Breaker of Chains, the Unburnt, Mother of Dragons!
丹尼莉丝·坦格利安 卡丽熙
dān ní lì sī · tǎn gé lì ān kǎ lì xī
Journey to the West
西游记
xī yóu jì
Super Family
超人
chāo rén
Michael Jackson
迈克尔·杰克逊
mài kè ěr ·jié kè xùn
Newsie
卖报人
mài bào rén
Horse head
马头面
mǎ tóu miàn
Sumo Suits
相扑
xiàng pū
Pink Bunny from A Christmas Story
圣诞粉红兔子
shèng dàn fěn hóng tù zǐ
Corpse Bride
女僵尸新娘
nǚ jiāng shī xīn niáng
A Piano?
钢琴
gāng qín
Red Guard
红卫兵
hóng wèi bīng
Creepy Teddy Bears
泰迪熊
tài dí xióng
String them together for precise searches.
Eg:
小熊维尼面具
xiǎo xióng wéi ní miàn jù
Winnie the Pooh mask
儿童万圣节服装
ér tóng wàn shèng jiē fú zhuāng
Child’s Halloween costume
定做成人公主服装
dìng zuò chéng rén gōng zhǔ fú zhuāng
Custom-made Adult Princess Costume
Hopefully this handy guide has helped you overcome the cultural barrier and celebrate Halloween in full costume!
With thanks to the team at Culturability. They consistently write useful content.
